They lived and suffered in Rome in the time of the Emperor Hadrian. The wise Sophia (as her name - Sophia - wisdom, indicates) was left a widow and, as a Christian, steeped herself and her daughters in the Christian faith. 

At the time that Hadrian"s persecuting hand stretched out over the virtuous house of Sophia, Vera was twelve, Nada ten and Lubov nine. The four of them were brought before the Emperor, with their arms entwined "like a woven wreath", humbly but firmly confessing their faith in Christ the Lord and refusing to offer sacrifice to the goddess Artemis. At the moment of their passion, the mother urged her valiant daughters to endure to the end: "Your heavenly Lover, Jesus Christ, is eternal health, inexpressible beauty and life eternal. When your bodies are slain by torture, He will clothe you in incorruption and the wounds on your bodies will shine in heaven like the stars." The torturers inflicted harsh torture on Vera, Nada and Lubov one by one. They beat them, stabbed them and threw them into fire and boiling pitch, and finally beheaded them one after the other. Sophia took the dead bodies of her daughters out of the town and buried them, and stayed by their grave in prayer for three days and nights, then gave her soul to God, hastening to the heavenly company where the blessed souls of her daughters awaited her.

Due to the Notting Hill Carnival taking place on Sunday, 24 August and Monday, 25 August 2025, the following services will be held at the Church of Saint Sava in Ealing (Green Man Passage, West Ealing, London, W13 0TG):

• Vespers and the Sacrament of Holy Unction – Saturday, 23 August at 6:30 PM
• Holy Liturgy – Sunday, 24 August at 10:00 AM

Thank you for your understanding.

After the Lord's Ascension, the Mother of God remained under the care of the Apostle John the Theologian, and when he was absent, she lived in the house of his parents, near the Mount of Olives. For all the Apostles and all the faithful, she was a consolation and edification. Talking with them, the Mother of God told them of the wondrous events of the Annunciation, the conception without seed, and her birth of Christ without corruption, His childhood and earthly life. Like the Apostles, she instructed and strengthened others in the Christian Faith by her very presence, words, and prayers. The Apostles' reverence for the Most Holy Virgin was extraordinary. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit on the remarkable day of Pentecost, they remained in Jerusalem for about ten years, serving for the salvation of the Jews and wishing to see and hear her divine words as often as possible. Many of the newly-enlightened in the faith even came from distant lands to Jerusalem in order to see and hear the Most Pure Theotokos.

On Sunday, August 3, 2025, the 30th anniversary of the suffering and expulsion of Serbs from Croatia during the military operation “Storm” in 1995 will be commemorated. The commemoration will begin at the Church of Saint Sava in London with Matins at 09:15, Holy Liturgy at 10:00, and a memorial service at 11:30. It will continue in the Bishop Nikolaj Community Centre, where there will be an exhibition by the Museum of Genocide Victims from Belgrade, titled “Serbian children in the wars of 1990–1999.”